The energy behind culture

Have you never wanted to find out what goes on behind the scenes in theatres? I bet at some point you have wanted to meet the actors and chat with them about a play... And what if works of art from museums could be seen on the street? Or how about enjoying an open air opera without paying for a ticket?

At Endesa, we want to transmit the energy behind culture: bring culture to more people, to the general public. How? Through initiatives that enable barriers to be removed and enable people to enjoy less accessible cultural expressions, such as opera, theatre or dance.

Opera for everyone

We want to make opera accessible to everyone; strip it of the idea that it is just for the elite few or for experts. Therefore, we have launched various initiatives:

We are taking opera to the streets by projecting some of the main works on at the Teatro Real in Madrid on giant screens. It started in 2016, when the I Puritani and Otello operas were shown to more than 40,000 people in 90 cities throughout Spain. In 2017 we carried on with the initiative with performances including Madame Butterfly, which was followed by 120,000 people at 250 screenings across Spain, plus another 5,000 who saw it on giant screens set up at Plaza de Oriente in Madrid. In 2018, we showed Lucia di Lammermoor by Gaetano Donizetti. Around 82,000 people were able to see the opera at more than 150 showings around the country. It was also broadcast through Facebook Live, Palco Digital and Opera Vision.

Similarly, together with Gran Teatre del Liceu in Barcelona, we are promoting "El Liceu a la fresca", (El Liceu al fresco) an event taking the best opera to the streets. In 2016, La Bohème was shown in 100 Catalan cities on giant screens, in an unforgettable experience. In 2017, more than 100,000 people saw Il Trovatore broadcast in 166 Spanish cities. The event was repeated in 2018, with more than 100,000 people watching Manon Lescaut, by Giacomo Puccini, at more than 295 locations.

We also supported online streaming of opera on new platforms such as the PalcoDigital (Digital Box Seat), where the best opera can be enjoyed online. Last season Otello and I Puritani were followed in 140 countries.

Furthermore, together with Podium podcast we have launched the PRISA Radio podcast network in Spanish, the program ‘Abrimos la ópera’, a series of 8 podcasts travelling across the cities that have inspired the main operas scheduled by the Teatro Real in Madrid and the Gran Teatro del Liceu in Barcelona.

The general public have the leading role: Ymás

Ymás is an initiative endorsed by key players in the world of culture to give the audience centre stage in the best cultural experiences. Through Ymás, we are organising experiences that nobody else can offer, such as premieres, pre-screenings, dress rehearsals; visiting dressing rooms, seeing sets and going backstage; talking to actors, directors, musicians, songwriters and screenwriters, and taking a behind-the-scenes look at how works of film, theatre, music and literature are made.

Endesa supports the initiative in line with our goal to bring culture to the masses in an innovative way so that everyone can feel its energy.

Art steps out of the museum

In October 2017, the Thyssen Museum will celebrate its 25th anniversary and Endesa is joining the celebration with several initiatives that will enable the general public to access one of the greatest art galleries in Spain. Under the slogan, #laluzdelapintura, the works of art of Zurbarán, Dégas, Juan Gris, Dérain, Ghirlandaio and Van Gogh, among others, will look out onto the Paseo del Prado and the Carrera de San Jerónimo thanks to various large-screen projections installed on the museum’s facades. 3D videos will also be shown, taking visitors on a journey inside 12 works of art, enabling them to experience art in a different way.

Furthermore, we are working with the organisers behind the Museum Day and the Museum Night that took place in May to put visitors to the Thyssen Museum at the centre stage of great works of art and become another character in their favourite paintings through an interactive exhibit.

Virtual reality and art went hand-in-hand at the International Museum Day and Night in 2018 at a immersive event, where visitors had the opportunity to enter various pieces in the Thyssen Museum’s collection, such as the fields of Auvers as painted by Van Gogh. The event has also been replicated in Seville and will move to other locations in Spain over the course of the year.

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